Light, moment and composition. (cont.)

Composition. I suppose you could argue that composition is a fundamental part of all photographs. It IS necessary to point the camera at something. But when I think about composition as the main ingredient of a photograph I’m thinking about a much more deliberate a way to frame a shot.

In this scene from an Egyptian ruin, only the tourists’ shadows are visible. The image takes on a universal, story-telling aspect as the shadows represent symbols rather than specifics. Also, deliberately arranging major elements in a way that is jarring to the western eye throws up a little visual speed bump. Now you have the viewer for few more seconds…maybe enough time to tell more of the story.